Low-Priced PC Lures Many Chinese
As Companies Market to the Masses

By

Leslie Chang Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Aug. 13, 1999 12:01 a.m. ET

C HINA'S COMPUTER makers are discovering a new market in this massive country: The masses. "Made for 85% of the Chinese people," trumpets an advertisement for China Great Wall Computer Co., one of the country's leading personal computer makers. Its $600 PC, launched in June, already makes up a third of total PC sales. The attraction: A computer complete with monitor, modem, and CD-ROM, but minus the choice of add-ons, free service and software that add costs and put the machine out of reach of many consumers.